FARMINGTON -- The future of Farmington's two largest cemeteries will be determined by voters at the March annual town meeting. But first the matter will be discussed by selectmen.

The Farmington Cemetery Corp., first established in 1917, can no longer manage the Riverside and Fairview cemeteries on Farmington Falls Road. That's largely due to the decline in the sale of cemetery lots and the lack of volunteer board members to oversee the operation.

"We are struggling because fewer graves are being sold and there are more cremations," said Joseph Holman, the clerk of the corporation's board of directors. "If you sell graves, that brings in income. But we might only sell two to three lots a year at $1,800 apiece."

The town has supported the cemeteries with an annual contribution that went up to $30,000 last year. But the board of directors says it is time to pass the entire decision-making responsibility over to the town.

The issue has been discussed with selectmen for several years because, under federal law, if a veteran is buried in a cemetery, the municipality it is in has the responsibility to maintain it.

Tonight, Farmington selectmen will be asked to approve an article for the March town meeting warrant that would transfer the corporation's assets and records to the town. The association's attorney, Lee Bragg, will make the presentation at the meeting, which starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Farmington Municipal Building.

"For a long time, the town has been paying for most of the maintenance costs," Holman said. "Financially speaking, the cemetery is already being run by the town."

In addition to the town contribution, money comes in from the sale of lots and interest income from the $335,000 cemetery trust fund, created from fees families paid for perpetual care. The trust fund is managed by Western Mountains Financial Services in Farmington.

The board of directors also believes the corporation's records and cemetery maps should be kept by the town for safekeeping and not stored in board members' offices, Holman said.

If voters approve the transfer at the March 10 town meeting, the full-time sexton, Ed Vining, could become a town employee and the operations could be done in-house by the town office staff at a possible cost-savings, said Town Manager Richard Davis.

A "friendly lawsuit" filed on behalf of the corporation's stockholders in Franklin County Superior Court is a procedural step required to dissolve the organization by court order, Holman said. The original 23 stockholders are all dead and most of their heirs cannot be found to approve the transfer or make any decisions.

Corporation board members are Michael Moffett, Peter Judkins, James Witt, Michael Cook, Arthur Perry, John Wilbur and Holman.

Betty Jespersen -- 778-6991

bjespersen@centralmaine.com